E-National trims Boone

By Travis Brown
STAR STAFF
tbrown@starhq.com

   The Elizabethton National 11-year-old all-stars overcame some baserunning mistakes in a narrow victory over Daniel Boone 5-4 Tuesday evening in the David's Trophies Invitational at Jim Ensor Field.
   The Elizabethton National squad stranded 10 baserunners due in part to some miscues on the basepaths as well as an inability to get clutch hits.
   Although 'Betsy unable to put the game away early, good pitching and solid defense were enough to pull out the win.
   Elizabethton got on the track early in the bottom of the first inning, exploding for four runs. Brandon Birchfield drew a leadoff walk and Zach Montgomery reached on an error that scored Birchfield to put E-town on the board.
   Garrett Dykes followed suit with a triple and Isiah Osborne came in to score on an error to give Elizabethton a 4-0 lead after one complete.
   Montgomery showed a solid performance on the mound. Although not overpowering, he was crafty in a complete-game performance that included only three walks and two earned runs allowed.
   Elizabethton would add some insurance in the second as Montgomery helped his cause, coming around to score after receiving a free pass. That would mark the end of Elizabethton's offensive output, however, as the rest of the game was marked by with missed opportunities and better pitching from Boone. Fortunately, the 5-run lead would hold up.
   Daniel Boone got off the snide in the top half of the third as Forrest Salts singled and later came around to score to close the gap to four.
   Both teams failed to score in the fourth despite both clubs putting runners in scoring position with less than two outs. The fifth inning, however, brought a scare for Elizabethton.
   Boone came out of the dugout swinging, and when the dust settled the lead had closed to a mere run as Alex Reynolds, Marcus Johnson and Taylor Fleenor all collected base hits to put three runs on the board and move Boone within striking distance in preparation for the final frame.
   The top half of the sixth, though, would offer little opportunity as Montgomery took home the win, retiring the visitors in order without incident.
   The game, despite being fraught with missed opportunity, was a good game and a testament to walks and errors. Elizabethton had less than half as many walks and only a lone error.
   Throwing strikes and playing solid defense paid off for the Elizabethton club. Look for the baserunning to improve, and this club could easily put on a clinic in its next performance.
   Johnson City Major 9
   Unicoi County 3
   Alex Huddleton homered, singled and scored three runs for Johnson City Major, which scored seven runs in the final two innings to shake loose from a 2-2 tie.
   Noah McKee totaled three hits for the winners, who got a double each from Jamieson Hamilton and Devon Muse.
   Matt Love and Tyler Bacon chipped in a base hit apiece for Johnson City. Caleb Mancuso, who took the mound in the fourth, collected the victory.
  
   Tops for Unicoi were Keaton Corn and Steven Kiernan with two hits each. Corn accounted for a two-bagger, as did Jordan Cooper.
   Getting one hit apiece for the Erwin outfit were Corey Headley, Chris White, Jacob Weaver and Cooper.